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Connecticut River Watershed Study

Connecticut River Watershed Study. Flow Modeling Workshop University Of Massachusetts August 5, 2010 Chris Hatfield, USACE, New England District Kim Lutz, TNC, Director, CT River Program. Context. 410 miles in length, over 11,000 square mile watershed Four states

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Connecticut River Watershed Study

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  1. Connecticut River Watershed Study Flow Modeling Workshop University Of Massachusetts August 5, 2010 Chris Hatfield, USACE, New England District Kim Lutz, TNC, Director, CT River Program

  2. Context • 410 miles in length, over 11,000 square mile watershed • Four states • More than 60 large dams, including 14 USACE facilities • 44 major tributaries • 3.2 million people

  3. Purpose To determine how management of various dams and water systems can be modified for environmental benefits while maintaining human uses such as water supply, flood control and hydropower generation.

  4. Study Goal Create a basin-wide hydrologic model decision support tool that will allow water managers and other key stakeholders to evaluate environmental and economic outcomes based on various management scenarios. 

  5. Ecological Goals • Increase the diversity and abundance of conservation targets such as floodplain forests, resident and migratory fish and mussel assemblages • Where it is possible, restore the timing and magnitude of high flow events to increase floodplain inundation and restore channel processes • Reduce within day flow variability to improve the quality and quantity of aquatic habitat • In rivers with human induced chronic low flows, seeks ways to ameliorate the effects of large water withdrawals and maintain healthy ecosystems

  6. Major Outcome Creation of a basin-wide hydrologic model decision support tool that will allow water managers and other key stakeholders to evaluate environmental and economic outcomes based on various management scenarios.

  7. This goal will be achieved through careful evaluation of current operations, interactions with stakeholders, and the generation of new operational alternatives that improve overall system performance.

  8. Funding • Study authorized in May 23, 2001 • Federal appropriations secured in • FY 2005 - $10,000 • FY 2008 - $98,000 • FY 2009 - $187,000 and $75,000 from stimulus bill • FY2010 - $359,000 • Broad support from House and Senate members across the basin

  9. Progress to Date • Ecological summary report • Hydrologic overview of dam impacted flow • Basin wide stakeholder assessment • Collaboration with largest dam owners • Simulation model architecture compete for entire basin • Optimization models for upper third of basin • In-flows for entire basin modeled

  10. Dwarf wedgemussel Glochidia release Seed dispersal and germination Silver maple Growing season Seed dispersal and germination Eastern cottonwood Growing season American shad Adult migration Spawning Juvenile migration

  11. Stakeholder Involvement People see a range of challenges facing the Connecticut River watershed including development of land, current river management practices, natural and human-influenced shoreline erosion and hardening, climate change, and funding limitations. Interviewees see value of creating a basin-wide hydrologic model and believe that it can inform managers in such a way that they will make better flow management decisions in the Connecticut River watershed. Many suggested flow regime modifications they’d like to see, generally toward a more natural hydrograph, and supporting sound land use changes to reduce shoreline erosion and water pollution. People see great value in the model for long-range emergency and hazard mitigation and land use planning, for the FERC relicensing process, for identification of critical habitats in need of protection. Interviewees are almost universally supportive of the balanced goal of the proposed model, which is to determine if altering flows can improve aquatic species and floodplain habitats while preserving the numerous, diverse human uses of the river.

  12. Key Participants • US Army Corps of Engineers – New England District • The Nature Conservancy • University of Massachusetts • US Geological Survey • Consensus Building Institute • 50 Stakeholders (to date) • 46 Dam Owners and Operators

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